Rail-joint



Patented May 10, 1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES C. GENTRY, OF MONROE CITY, MISSOURI.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 474,499, dated May 1892.

Application filed geptember 14, 1891. Serial No.'405,724. (No model.)

Toall whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, JAMES C. GENTRY, a cit-izen of the United States, residing at Monroe City, in the county of Monroe and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Rail-Joint, of which the followingis a specification.

The invention relates to improvements'in rail-joints.

The object of the present invention is to provide simple and effective means for securing rails at their joints to the sleepers, and to enable the parts to be readily tightened to preserve'a rigid and unyielding support for the rails.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

in the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rail-joint constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional'view taken at the joint. Fig. 3 is a similar view taken to one side of the joint. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the lower wedge.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, 1 designates a T- shaped sleeper supportingrails 2, which are secured to the horizontal flanges of the sleeper by clips 3, which are approximately U-shaped with angular bends and are connected by straining-bolts 4. The rails have their meeting ends connected by fish-plates 5 and horizontal bolts 6, which pass through the fish-plates arid the webs of the rails in the usual manner. The clips engage the upper faces of the lower flanges of the rails and the lower faces of the horizontal flanges of the sleeper 1 and are held in such'engagement by the bolts 4, which may be strained up to tighten the clips or may be loosened to permit the removal of the clips. In order to preserve a rigid support for the rails and to enable all looseness to be readily taken up, reversely-arranged wedges 7 and 8 are interposed between the rails and the sleeper and are arranged between the clips and are'adapted to be forced inward together to spread the rails and the sleeper. The uper wedge is designed to be stationary and is provided at its ends with ribs 9, arranged on its upper face and adjacent to the edges of the bottom flanges of the rails. The lower wedge 8 is the one intended to be moved to tighten the parts and is provided at its narrow end with a series of perforations 10, adapted for the reception of a key 11, which prevents the wedge 8 being forced outward by the passage of cars. By this construction a perfectly rigidconnection is maintained between the sleeper and the meetingends of the rails and the parts may be readily adjusted to take up any wear or looseness. It will also be seen that the clips. and wedges may be readily removed when it is desired to take up the rails for any cause. This also enables rails to be quickly laid.

From the foregoing description and the ac oompanying drawings the construction, operation, and advantages oftheinvention wii'l be readily understood;

What I claim is 1. The combination of a sleeper, rails, U- shaped clips engaging the sleeper and the rails, bolts connecting the clips .and holding the same in engagement with the rails and the sleeper, and wedges interposed between the rails and the sleeper, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a sleeper, rails, clips connecting the rails and the sleeper, the upper and lower wedges interposed between the rails and the sleeper and being oppositely disposed, the upper wedge beingv provided 'with ribs to engage the edges of the rails and the lower wedge being provided with per-fora tions, and a key arranged to engage the perforations, substantially as described.

3. The-combination of a T-shaped sleeper, rails, U-shaped clips having angular bends engaging the bot-tom flanges of the rails and the horizontal flanges of the sleeper, straining-bolts connecting the clips, and oppositelydisposed wedges interposed between the rails and the sleeper, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as.

my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' JAM S, C- GENTRY. Witnesses:

HILERA R. HARDY,

J AMES 0.- BELL. 

